A Timely Change
by Jerry Martin
Summary: Scott Calvin unwillingly took the job of Santa after his son convinced him to put on the coat. But he wasn't the only legendary figure replacement and this story follows another unlikely candidate: Doug Fisher. Takes place during the events of Santa Clause 1. Hope you enjoy!
1. The New Santa

_A.N. So after watching the Santa Clause Trilogy hundreds of times, an idea sprang into my head. I hope you enjoy the story._

The company Christmas party was finally getting interesting. People began to dance and sing, coworkers were chatting it up and it was finally turning into a fun party. Doug Fisher couldn't have cared less. In fact, the only reason he was throwing this holiday shindig for his workers was to keep their morale up as they shifted into their slowest time of the year. It was also a little thank you gift to his workers, whose Do It All For You Dolly idea transformed into one of the most profitable toys the company had ever released. It broke several records and was continuing to sell like hot cakes. _I suppose it's time to remind everyone why we're here._ Doug grabbed a microphone and turned to face the crowd.

"Could I have everyone's attention please? This year has been an enormous success thanks in part to Do It All For You Dolly. And we owe it all to Scott Calvin and Susan Perry! Come on up here!"

The crowd applauded as he handed the microphone to Susan and stepped aside. Scott came shortly after her and the two turned to face the crowd.

"Thank you everyone! I'd like to thank everyone here..." Susan began.

"But we don't have time for that now do we?" Scott cut her off. The crowd chuckled mildly. Doug was not amused by such shenanigans, but was glad that Scott was able to click with a crowd. He appreciated that about Scott, even if he couldn't imagine himself acting like that. Scott wrapped it up and the party resumed.

"Aren't they wonderful? Scott Calvin and Susan Perry everyone!" he said into the microphone. The party flared back up again and Doug excused himself to talk with another of his high executives: Phil Barton, who was in charge of the mechanical aspect of building toys and having them shipped out.

"Well Doug, the slow time of the year is here again" Phil grumbled in his low voice.

"Don't remind me Phil. We have to work extra hard to sell toys after Christmas. But hopefully we'll get a few more sales on other people's returned toys."

"If they don't return ours sir."

"I think Dolly's impact on the market is clear Phil. Now are we still on for tomorrow's meeting?"

"But sir, it's Christmas! I was planning on spending it with my kids. Besides, you gave everyone the week off!"

"That may be true but I expect to see you sometime tomorrow to discuss our plans for expanding our retailers."

"Sir, you know they're closed! There's nothing we can do tomorrow except plan who we may want to call!" Phil said in a panic.

"...I suppose you have a point. We'll meet on the 26th at 8 AM. Don't be late."

"Sure thing sir."

Doug walked back out to the party and grabbed the microphone in his hand again. He didn't want to appear as though he was in a bad mood, even though the news of not meeting and getting some work done unsettled him a bit. _Can he even talk to me like that?_

"Thank you everyone for coming out tonight. I hope you enjoyed yourselves but it's time we wrapped things up. Drive safe and enjoy your holiday!"

The crowd moved gradually towards the exit, saying their goodbyes and exchanging holiday wishes with everyone. Finally, as the last person exited the room, he surveyed the thrashed office. The Janitor crew will be here in a few moments. _Let them deal with it. I don't pay them for nothing._ Doug locked the door tight and got into his car, ready to go home and sort out some of his ideas on how to increase the company's profitability.

* * *

There was a loud rumble on the roof. Scott slept through it as he dreamed about the newest sports cars he saw in a lot. It was a pleasant dream. He drove the Ferrari Enzo with the top down, his hair flying back as he pushed the gas pedal down further, testing out the engine's horsepower. But he was quickly shaken awake by his son Charlie. He turned to face him, slightly agitated.

"Dad I heard a clatter!" Charlie whispered.

"A what?"

"There came a big noise! It's coming from outside!"

Scott wiped the sleep from his eyes as he drifted his legs over the side of his bed. He looked at Charlie, who seemed to be in a big panic. I suppose I should calm him down.

"It was probably the wind or something. C'mon, let's go back to bed!"

As Scott pushed off to get to his feet, a large rumble came from above him, startling him. _Someone's breaking into MY house?_ He stopped for a moment before getting onto his feet quickly.

"Someone's on the roof!" Scott proclaimed.

"Maybe it's Santa!" Charlie suggested.

"Not now Charlie. Do you know the number to 911?"

"Sure. 911."

"Right. Stay here."

Scott ran outside in a panic, eager to confront the would be burglar and ignoring the fact that he was dressed in nothing but a baggy shirt and his black boxer shorts. As soon as he got outside, he saw a man dressed like Santa walking across his rooftop. _Trying to use the holidays to rob someone? Not on my watch!_

"Hey you!" Scott shouted.

To his surprise, the would-be burglar slipped off his roof and slid down, falling directly into a pile of snow. Great. Now I may be liable for a burglar's medical bills? As he went to check the fallen thief, he heard his door open and Charlie ran outside to greet him.

"It IS Santa! ...You killed him!" Charlie said, disappointed.

"Did not!" Scott said, getting defensive. _If he is dead, I could be in a LOT of trouble! I guess I should see who this guy really is._ Scott began to search through the man's coat for his ID but unfortunately found nothing more than a business card.

"Put on my suit. The reindeer will know what to do. Yeah right." Scott read aloud skeptically.

"Dad, you gotta see this!" Charlie yelled.

Scott rushed over to his son to see what he was staring at and his jaw dropped. Sitting on his roof was none other than a full size sleigh and eight reindeer. _This has gotta be a practical joke of some sort..._

* * *

Doug finished drawing up a few presentation ideas to present to the marketing team to build and set up a tentative agenda for the next day's meeting, where he planned to expand his business to several small retailers around the globe by offering them slightly lower prices. He figured that the break will interest small, up and coming businesses while still earning him quite a bit of profit. He glanced over at the clock and was shocked to see that he got all this accomplished in a mere ten minutes. _How did this happen? I normally take an hour to do this! I must be in the zone today. Guess I'll do a few more!_

* * *

Scott couldn't believe he let his son talk him into this. _I'm in a Santa suit, breaking into people's houses to leave presents for them? And somehow I'm able to fly AND the bag is refilling itself? I must be sleeping still._ Scott pinched himself to see if he was still asleep and was surprised when he found out he wasn't. He hopped down into the chimney and walked over to the Christmas tree, taking out the presents and putting them haphazardly under the tree. He heard a loud crash and flinched, hoping it wasn't another security system or hazardous animal coming to investigate. It took him several moments before he realized that it was the present that smashed. Well, at least this is all in my imagination.

He turned to exit and saw a clock hanging on the wall, the arrows indicating that the time was merely 2:53. _It's only been fifteen minutes since I left the house?! There's no way! That clock must be off!_ Scott climbed back into the chimney, where his magic bag lifted him into the air and back to his sleigh. With a slap of the reins, he was at his next house and his magic bag had refilled itself. _Well, 23 down, a billion to go!_

* * *

Unknown to everyone, a mysterious figure was watching over Scott using his other worldy powers to watch his progress. _Well John, it appears as though your successor isn't doing so well. At this rate, he'll be done by 11:00 AM and expose all of us!_ He stroked his long white beard and pondered. _...Well, I could...but it's against the rules! I'll face an inquiry for sure! ...Oh well, I suppose it doesn't matter anymore._ He waved his arm and with the blink of an eye, a weird sensation overtook the Earth. Clocks began to slow to a crawl all around the Earth and the mysteroius figure sighed. _I hope that helps him. It may very well be my last use of time magic!_

_A.N. I hope you enjoy it so far. I know most of this chapter was recapping events from Santa Clause 1 but the next few chapters will be original content. Also, the story of John will be explained in a second story (which I already outlined and began to write when I thought up this story). Hope you stick around for the remaining 9 chapters!_


	2. Scott's Work Troubles

It had been a week since Christmas and Doug hadn't spent any time to himself. Rather, Doug had spent nearly every waking moment dedicated to figuring out new pitches for toys, new toy ideas that he could market, ways to improve his company's efficiency going into the slow time of the year and tracing his company's funding to look for possible errors or unnecessary spending. He hadn't been able to match his efficiency of the Christmas Eve and it made him begin to ponder about what he had done differently that night that might have increased his productivity. _If I could figure it out, I could expand it to my company and see bigger numbers!_ But try as he might, he had to admit it seemed like a fluke.

When he finally arrived at work bright and early that day, he spread out his week of work to the appropriate departments. He gave the marketing department his toy pitch ideas, the development department got the rough draft of toys and his accountants got the new spending plans he had worked out. He finished up just in time to get to the meeting he had with Susan and the marketing team, regarding the new sales pitch for the Total Tank toy they had just put onto the market.

"Calvin's late" Doug announced, obviously annoyed.

"I'm sure he'll show. It's not like him to miss a meeting after all" Susan replied.

"True, but I gave him a week off. That should be all the rest he needs."

The company waiter came by with his pencil in hand and a notepad in the other. He looked over the group of executives quickly and saw that most of them were fidgeting as they waited for Scott.

"Is everyone ready to order?" he asked, trying to keep the mood pleasant.

"Yeah, I suppose. That can be Calvin's punishment for coming late."

"Oh my god..." Susan announced.

Everyone turned to see Scott Calvin rushing towards the office, inappropriately dressed in a long black coat and gray sweats._ Is this how he thinks the company should present itself?_ Doug felt a bit agitated as Scott ran into the room and threw off his coat, sitting in his chair.

"Calvin!" Doug gasped.

"The dry cleaner in my neighborhood went up in flames. Some big chemical fire. All my clothes...poof...gone." Scott replied, casually speaking of it as if it was no big deal.

"Your weight! What happened?"

Scott stopped momentarily and it appeared to Doug as though he were trying to think of a lie quickly. Doug frowned, as he had never known Scott to be a liar nor had he foreseen any reason for him to. _What happened to this guy on the week we were gone?_

"Bee sting. Apparently I'm allergic. Almost killed me. But luckily, the guy in the emergency room said the swelling WILL go down. I hope. Did I miss anything?" Scott replied.

"No, we were just about to order lunch" Doug's marketing representative, Carl Jacobs replied.

"Great! I'm starving!" Scott said sitting down and taking his spot.

Everyone proceeded to order light meals. Even Doug, who knew he had to attempt to keep his figure, ordered his pasta with light oil. But something that seemed to confirm Doug's worries that Scott was lying happened shortly thereafer.

"Can I get a Ceaser, no dressing? ...And one of those homemade cookies, you know with the nuts...a creme brule, brownie and a hot fudge sundae! Extra hot fudge!" Scott ordered.

The room gazed at Scott and it appeared he began to feel self conscious. Doug shook his head in disgust and Susan asked him what everyone was thinking.

"Stung by a bee Scott?"

"A big bee..."

Everyone began to chat amongst themselves as the waiter left to go give the chef the orders. Doug sat and wondered why Scott would even lie to them about his weight. _If you have a sweets addiction, just tell us so we can help you overcome it and get back to your old self!_ Scott sat in silence and watched everyone as they prepared for the meeting and their food. Finally, the waiter returned, bringing back everyone's meals. Scott had his own personal tray, which contained his salad, a plate of warm cookies and brownies, his creme brule and a hot fudge sundae, which had a small cup on the side of hot fudge. As soon as the plates were set, everyone quietly ate their meals as Scott devoured his sweets, hardly touching his salad.

Everyone had been finished for several minutes as Scott dug around the bottom of his cup for last morsels of hot fudge, which irritated Doug to no end. Scott seemed oblivious as he scraped and clanged, everyone in the room watching him finish off his ice cream like a school kid. Doug was finally at wits end as he watched Scott and could feel his temper rising.

"Finished?" an irritated Doug asked Scott.

Scott merely finished off the spoonful of fudge and put his spoon back in the cup. Doug gave Carl the go ahead to start and Carl began his presentation.

"OK, so we know this is all just storyboard but here is the preliminary commercial for Total Tank! We've got Santa, he's up at the North Pole and he's getting ready for...Christmas!" Carl announced, pulling back the first slide of the presentation and showing a slide of the two Clauses and a bunch of elves.

"No..." Scott whined.

_Does he realize that he's been stalling the entire meeting since he got here? Why would he interrupt a perfectly good presentation? If he keeps this up, I'm gonna have to talk to him and reaffirm our company's morals!_ Carl seemed offput by Scott's outburst and looked over to him.

"Problem?" Carl asked.

"It's just...the elves look so funny!" Scott announced.

He had better be joking. He had better be boosting morale. If he isn't he may not leave here employed... Doug felt the veins in his head begin to throb and eyed Scott warily. Scott seemed oblivious.

"They're elves. They're supposed to look funny."

"Just my opinion but could we make them look a little younger? With silver specks on their cheeks?"

"Can we continue here?!" Doug said, letting his temper get the better of him.

"Now this year Santa's not going out in his sleigh. This year...he's going TOTAL TANK!" Carl said, pulling back another slide and showing Santa riding in the toy vehicle. For some strange reason, this made Scott lose his temper.

"No way! No way Santa's going anywhere without his sleigh!"

"He would if he's trying to sell the Total Tank!" Carl pointed out.

"Well isn't that a pretty picture? Santa rollin' down the block in a Panzer! Well kids, I certainly hope you've been good this year cause Santa just took out the Pierson home! INCOMING! And another thing...reindeer and Santa, Santa and the reindeer, kind of a package deal, wouldn't you say?"

Doug finally had enough. He angrily got out of his chair and eyed Scott with a look of contempt and disgust in his face. Scott still looked oblivious and continued his rant.

"Calvin!"

"You don't believe in Santa do you?"

_Are you kidding me? Did this guy take stupid pills before he came to work? This is like a whole different Calvin! What got into this guy?!_

"Calvin, can I see you outside for a moment."

The two stepped outside and shut the door. The rest of the meeting participants watched eagerly as Doug approached Scott, frustrated and wanting to figure out what in the world had gotten into him.

"Calvin what happened to you? You look like the Pillsbury Doughboy!" Doug asked.

"I know...I don't know what came over me in there."

"Just get some help. See a doctor, a dietician...just get some help!"

The rest of the presentation went without a hitch and Scott had no further interruptions. Doug began to calm down and commented on the impact the commercial could have on children, especially considering that the holiday season had just passed. Finally, everyone got up and made to leave but Doug held Scott back. As the last person left and was well out of earshot, Doug walked over to Scott and shook his head.

"Calvin, I'm worried about you. You're not the same sharp executive that created Dolly."

"If this is about that outburst, I know I was way out of line. It won't happen again."

"Well, I can see that something's just not right with you. I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and place you on a month's medical leave. Go see a doctor and get some help. I'll check in with you in a couple weeks to see how you're doing."

Scott stood there in shock as Doug made for the exit. _I suppose it's a bit harsh but I can't have him coming in looking like he's fresh from the gym and causing a scene cause of some elf! He's better off at home where he won't impact my sales._ As Doug left, he saw Scott finally make towards the exit and head home.

* * *

_I can't believe it's been a week and I still haven't gotten caught! I thought that nosy woman Mother Nature would have figured it out by now but it seems she's too busy helping out in Santa's absence! I may just get away with this after all!_ Father Time sat back in his throne, which was crafted in the shape of a large grandfather clock. The arms were fashioned in the shape of hour hands and though he had loved it at first, he now found it gaudy. _I know I'm in charge of time itself but I don't need my throne to represent that! I've had it with this job._

For hundreds of years, Father Time had watched over time and regulated it, making sure it flowed evenly and no person would be able to abuse it. Though the job came with numerous perks, such as a fancy castle, the ability to control time and immortality (without which he would have died long ago), it came with too many rules and ultimately began to grate on his nerves. _If I could travel back in time to visit my family it would be great! But noooo...Ms. 'You'd be tampering with the flow of Nature' has at least five thousand rules that forbid it._ At first he was shocked to get the title and loved every moment. Now he'd rather not be Father Time anymore. Though he tried numerous times to get himself kicked out of the job by breaking several of the rules, the council had always been lenient with him. But he just violated a huge one last night, rather than the fun tiny time lapses he had cast on random passerby.

He relaxed in his throne and thought about all the people he had ever cared about and how they had died off into the sands of time, leaving him stranded with a bunch of legendary figures he couldn't care less to know. His mind drifted to his wife, who he foolishly left behind for the job. His kids, whose bloodline survived for about a hundred years before dying off and hardly knew him when he took the job and abandoned them.

A thunderous crash awoke Father Time from his daydream and he realized that he was no longer alone. He straightened up and watched as a lone figure approached him from the hall and soon he recognized the rugged features of Mother Nature herself.

"Mother Nature. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Well, we're having a meeting of legendary figures up at the North Pole. I'm here to escort you there."

Father Time got up off his throne and stretched, taking his time. He casually placed a hand on Mother Nature's shoulder and shortly afterwards, the two teleported to the North Pole. _Perhaps they know after all..._


	3. Job Opening Father Time

Father Time walked into the North Pole, which seemed a lot less frantic than it did several nights prior. He walked up the stairs to the usual meeting spot and looked around at the rest of the Legendary Figures, who were seated at the table and ready for the meeting to start. Their faces were ashen and they looked as though they were preparing for a death sentence. Seeing his collegues with a look of death on their face made a twinge of regret and fear spread through him, but he was unsure why and sat down at the head of the table like usual. None of the Legendary Figures made eye contact with Father Time and he began to grow worried. _How much do they know? Is this even about me?_ Mother Nature slid her chair out and sat down between Father Time and the Easter Bunny, ready to get down to business.

"Well, we all know what this emergency meeting is about. So let us commence" Mother Nature announced.

"I don't suppose you're going to fill me in then?" Father Time shot back, starting to grow worried.

"We've called this emergency meeting to deal with your inappropriate use of your powers" Mother Nature.

_I knew it! I'm finally going to be free of this curse! But...does that mean I'm going to die alone? Will I get to see my family again? ...Maybe I should have thought this through a bit more!_ Father Time began to grow worried, even though he felt a twinge of excitement as the moment of his fantasies finally arrived. But something deep down inside of him knew that he hadn't thought it through enough. He knew that it had just been wishful thinking and now that the moment was finally there, he felt scared and worried. _If I had just kept my hand out of things I could have probably just reversed time and visited my family once again. I could have stopped myself from taking the job! Now I'm gonna die a miserable death? And lose the respect of the only people who would remember me? ...What have I done..._

Everyone looked grim as Mother Nature picked up a stack of papers and began to look them over, handing them to the rest of the Legendary Figures to peruse. Father Time looked as though he was going to throw up, his face whiter than the long beard he had grown out all those years ago. It appeared as though no one wanted to talk about the matter but finally Mother Nature broke the silence.

"As you can see here on this graph, a time rift opened on Christmas Eve, shortly after 2:30 AM. Normally, we'd believe that it was a simple miscalculation or that you had neglected your duties momentarily. However, due to the strength of the rift and the duration we had no choice but to come to the conclusion that it was willful and malicious. How else do you explain 12 hours of time lapsing into 4 hours? This even made the newspapers in several counties! Do you have any logical reason why this happened? Any excuse why you nearly gave away the secrecy of our group?" Mother Nature announced.

Father Time gulped and began to sweat. _I never imagined that this day would happen like this! I always pictured it as a happy eviction where I was free to return to my own time and everyone still loved me! Now what do I do?_

"Um...well, that new Santa fellow was taking his sweet time! He never would have finished his task if I didn't slow time!"

"You know as well as I do that both Santa's route and Santa's sleigh are imbued with a special magic spell that slows time. It's under your jurisdiction! Even if he was slow as molasses, he would have finished on time!" the Tooth Fairy countered.

"I agree. That calls your motives into question even more. Are you simply abusing your power now for the sake of it? Are you trying to show us that you've finished being Father Time?" Mother Nature inquired.

"No! I...I just..." Father Time stammered, looking towards the exits to make a quick break for it.

"Well, it seems to me as though you've been slipping up a bit! Lots of humans have been feeling as though time has slipped away from them and we've caught you a couple times messing with them!" Cupid retorted.

_This is bad. This is very bad. I wish I could go back in time and...wait, I'm FATHER TIME! I CAN!_ Father Time smiled and leaned back in his chair, confident now that he was going to keep his job. _Heck, if I can pull this off, I might even go back to see my family now and again! _The rest of the group became unsettled as Father Time relaxed, unsure what his change in demeanor meant.

"Does this mean you're acknowledging these accusations?" The Easter Bunny asked.

"Yes, but I was wrong. So I'm going back in time to change it. See you losers later! Ha ha!"

Father Time jumped out of his chair and quickly racked his brain on how to reverse just his own time flow. The group of figures gasped and looked shocked, but Father Time was even more surprised to see that none of them were getting up to chase him or try and stop him from going back in time. _That's weird...you'd think that they'd WANT to stop me from abusing my power..._Father Time recalled the procedure and attempted to use it, but it failed. _Huh? I could have sworn..._ He tried several more times, only to fail again and again. _Maybe I'll just manipulate the flow of time backwards a few minutes to stop my outburst until I remember..._ Father Time waved his arm once more, attempting to use the very same magic he had been using the past several months in an effort to lose the job but was shocked to find that it did not work either. _I...I think I made a huge mistake..._ The rest of the group sat with their heads down, embarrassed by Father Time's public showcase. All except for Mother Nature, who shook her head and watched in disgust.

"Are you quite finished?" Mother Nature asked.

"My...my powers..."

It was all Father Time could manage to stammer out. He was in such a state of shock and confusion that he had hardly noticed Mother Nature get up and push him back onto his chair at the table. He waved his arms in a stupor, attempting the spell over and over before Mother Nature grew disgusted with him.

"ENOUGH! We had our suspicious that you had gone rogue. That's why we held a vote to invoke the Emergency Clause" Mother Nature explained.

"The...the Emergency Clause?"

"You forgot already? 'In the event that a Legendary Figure abuses his or her powers, either willingly or at the hands of another, or the Legendary Figure is unable to fulfill his or her job duties, either by refusing to do so or is unable to do so, a vote may be held among the unaffected Legendary Figures to suspend or terminate the powers of the affected individuals.'" Mother Nature recited quickly.

"You think helping Santa...is just cause to suspend my powers?"

"No. But given the evidence against you as well as your actions just a few moments ago, we had no choice but to believe that you were no longer fulfilling your job duties and were maliciously abusing them."

"But I was helping Santa!" Father Time pouted out, pitifully whining like a child.

"Again, you knew outright that it was unnecessary and an abuse of your power. Since you seem to think you can bend the rules of Nature to your will, I hereby call a vote to permanently revoke your powers. All in favor, please raise your hands!"

Father Time began to sob loudly at the revelation and broke down as he saw every Legendary Figure raise their hand. _I never wanted it to be like this! Why does it have to be like this?! It was to help that stupid new Santa! I hope someone takes it away from him like they're taking it away from me!_

"Sorry Father Time, but I can't see how giving you such authority when you continue to abuse it is such a good idea..." Tooth Fairy announced.

"I second that. Trust me, I know love and there's no love of your job anymore. I could see it for years" Cupid concurred.

"I wouldn't be able to sleep well at night knowing that I might wake up to night skies!" Sandman yawned.

"If you're in charge, Spring may never get here and how will I hide my eggs?" Easter Bunny asked.

"And I personally saw the confusion when diurnal creatures awoke in the middle of the night. I'm sorry Father Time. Thank you for the years you've put into the job but I think it's time for your successor. Good bye..."

Father Time stood there, shocked as he felt the effects of the Emergency Clause take over his body. His long white beard retracted into his face, leaving a smooth shave he hadn't seen since in over 400 years. His long white hair became manageable and the memories of his years began to escape him until he no longer knew where he was or who was with him. His immortality began to leave him and his face began to age rapidly, shriveling up and becoming more wrinkled than he had ever seen it. He fell to his knees and felt his bones deteriorate until they were brittle. The Legendary Figures gasped as the former Father Time's body contorted until he was nothing more than a skeleton, which soon fell into dust and scattered across the floor. Tears welled up in the eyes of the participants, but they all showed an eagerness for his replacement.

"How do we go about finding a new Father Time?" Cupid asked.

"The spirit of time will choose its successor.

"How long will that take?"

"It could take anywhere from hours until days. We'll just have until it does."


End file.
